Return to Sorrow
by ForbiddenKitsuneNin
Summary: OneShot.Near End of game Spolier. Six years and finaly he can return to the planet. He finds out something startling in the end part of the Tale of Lord Aruirving and Lady Sage. Six is more like 1000. Lloaine


_Konichiwa minna-san.  
I am warning you Spoiler's up ahead if you haven't gotten to the part at Altessa's involving Yuan and --- and Lloyd. Okay? _

_**Dicalmer: I don't own Tales Of Symphonia**_

_Enjoy the One-shot_

* * *

Excitement sparkled in his crimson-brown orbs as he gazed at the large monitor before him. They were reaching the beginning of their orbit again. Beginning to reach the outer orbit of the planet that once was two. A smile came to his face; the time he spent altering controls, to alter the planet, so that it fell into an orbit around the sun was worth it. The plan that they devised was wroth it. 

It had been six years but it was worth it. He could know return to the planet. In just a few days he would be able to teleport to Symphonia and his excitement was showing. In his last communications with them he heard that he would be a grandfather soon and that the Eternal sword coupled with Gnome's power was showing great progress in slowing the planet's, Derris-Karhlan's, speed. He wondered who the mother of his grandchild was, for the communications were untimely cut short before he could find out. He could remember the sound in his son's voice when he told him that he was going to be a grandfather. He had sounded very much like he had when he was going to become a father.

"They should be about four now...", he smiled sadly as he remembered that he wasn't there when his son was four, five, six, seven, eight and so on. He would be there for his grandchild as much as he could.

Suddenly the past six years felt more like a thousand.

* * *

His stride was swift and his eyes sparkled. He strode down on the single path toward the teleporter. Today was the day. Today, he would go to Symphonia and be with his family. He has long since freed the angels and destroyed the exspheres of Derris-Karhlan. He could now live on the same planet as his son. Soon he could see the slight blue-green glow of the teleporter. 

Stepping onto the glowing blue-green pad, translucent rings came up around him and soon he found himself in a field of lush green grass. In the distance he could see some mountains. A combination of the Fuji Mountains and Hosenkia peak, the new name of which he did not know. Looking opposite of the mountains he began his trek. The Yggdrasil Tree was north of the mountains near where the Tower of Salvation of Sylvarant once stood. His destination was there.

He carried almost no luggage. He hadn't a need for it, he didn't ever carry much luggage. He walked down a road, not yet paved with stone. In the distance he could see what looked to be a large town. The air hummed with mana, the mana of life. He could feel a harmony of mana. It seemed that the summon spirits were able to coincide in the new world. A small smile found its way onto his face as he walked the road, a smile of pride. It was his son and his friends who created this world.

"Welcome to Luin! The city of Life!", greeted a young woman with a large grin of her face.

He glanced at the young woman and nodded. Luin seemed to be closer than he remembered. Looking to the sky he saw that the sun had begun to set. He would stay for the night and head out in the early morn. The inn was not hard to find, for it was in the same spot as it was when he last visited, however the were now two other inns in the city. The city itself resembled something of a Tethe'allan city with the somewhat rural charm of the Sylverant city it once was.

Soon the dawns light awoke him his light slumber. Sleep was something of a luxury, something to pass the time. It certainly helped pass the time through the night. He rolled slightly out of bed and began to short process of reading himself for the trek to his son's home. Before he left the room, he readied 300 gald to pay the man at the lobby desk for his stay.

He strolled through the city in the early morning's light, stopping breifly to gaze at the statues placed around the city. Each of which was well taken care of, however they appeared to look aged. As if they had been there for a number of years. He stopped infront of a statue of a woman bearing a staff. A teacher, a healer.

_'Raine Sage, the wise teacher who supported the hearts of the people.'_

"I wonder what she was like", came a small and soft voice. Turning to his right he saw a small girl-child. She bore silver hair, slightly pointed ears and emitted the strange feeling of human and elf blood fused together. A half-elf. "She looks really pretty and I heard that she was really smart!", she said with a grin as she gazed up at the face of the statue. "Do you anything about Lady Sage mister? Because if you don't you can come with me to the Yggdrasil Tree to learn about her".

He raised a eye brow at the child. It was understandable that she idolized the woman. Even he knew that many of the half-elves would begin to idolize both her and her brother for their deeds. At any rate this child was going to his destination, surely she didn't think of going alone? Yes more villages were probably along the way, and the roads where more travelled but there was still some monsters that roamed about and it was a distance away from Luin. "Do you know how to defend yourself?", he asked the girl. She merely shook her head. "When do you plan to leave?".

"I was going to leave now mister, thats why I asked if you wanted to come with me to learn about Lady Sage. Oh!-- and just so you know, if you want to you can learn about other people there too! They tell lots of tales about Pre-Symphonia! Its really interesting!", her eyes sparkling in excitement.

He nodded, might as well go with the girl. "Shouldn't you tell someone that you are leaving?", he questioned.

"Father and brother said that I could go last night as long as I was back in two days. They let me do a lot of stuff! They say that I am way more mature and smart than others my age", she giggled as she beamed up at him.

"Alright, lets go then", he said.

They walked for some time, neither making a compliant or speaking. The girl merely took in all the sights around her. The sun was high in the sky by the time they reached to foot of the hill that the tree stood on. Its large branches and foliage loomed over them, providing shade for a large area. The hill covered in lush green grass, with large patches of wild flowers. A gentle wind blew, causing the leaves of the Yggdrasil Tree to flow with the wind as some of its branches swayed and the grass to rustle in the wind.

The girl's eyes widened as she took in the sight,"Thanks mister!", she said and then proceeded to run up the hill. Soon she disappeared from his sight, leaving only a small trail in the grass that she had run through. He shook his head slightly and then proceeded to follow her path, only walking at a leisurely pace instead of running.

As he reached the top he could hear a number of voices, mostly those of children and young teens. Vaguely he had to remind himself of what the girl had said. No doubt there was more than just one person here wishing to learn about Pre-Symphonia. To his right he saw a small group. No more than ten children and young teens, alone with two young adults.

"Alright,calm down. What you want to hear about today?", questioned the young male adult.

"Lady Sage!", the small half-elven girl-child said.

"No! Lord Aruirving!", a boy countered.

"No! Lady Sage!", she said with a frown.

"I wanna hear about Lady Sage and Lord Aruirving", stated a young male teen. Much of the group around him gave a chorus of 'yes'.

"Gotcha... but what part of the tale do you want to hear?", the young female adult asked. The group of listeners looked at each other then back at the two young adults.

"From the beginning!", some of the younger children called.

"Right then," the young man cleared his throght and began, "A number of years ago, before Symphonia was formed, there were two worlds; Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. In Tethe'alla there lied a village. A village that only Elves may enter, however a hum--Ow! What!",he hissed at his female companion while rubbing his head where she had hit him.

"Not that beginning, honestly," she sighed, "Years ago, in the village of Iselia, in the declining world of Sylvarant is where the tale really begins. As you may know, Lord Aruirving studied under Lady Sage at the small school in Iselia. One day in the mist of a lesson, the orcal appeared".

"This oracle marked the beginning of the Chosen's journey of regeneration. Having seen the light produced by the oracle; Lady Sage set off to the Temple of Martel, just outside of the village, after telling her students to stay at the school and continue their studies. However, Lord Aruirving choose to go to the temple as well to check things out. With him he brought Lady Sage's younger brother Genis and the Chosen", the young man stated.

"Soon Lord Aruirving and his companions found the the temple was under attack by the Renegades, whom at that time they thought were Desians. They fought with the 'Desians'", she spoke while adding quotations, "but were over powered, luckily they were aided by a mercenary, known as Kratos. With Kratos's help; they defeted the 'Desians' and proceeded to enter the temple; aiding the Chosen in receiving the oracle. And thus the journey of regeneration began".

Both young adults spun the tale of the journey of regeneration which had morfed in the to journey to reunite the worlds. They spoke of each human ranch that the Lord and Lady ventured too, how Luin was destroyed when the Desians invaded and how Sheena, the emissary of death from Tethe'alla, joined forces with the Lord and Lady's group. How the mercenary known as Kratos had really been one of the four Seraphim of the Cruix high order; sent forth to keep close watch over the Chosen. The realization of the Renegades and the hastey journey to Tethe'alla. Where the parted with Sheena and met the Chosen of Tethe'alla, Zelos Wilder.

They spun the tale till after the sun had set before they finally drew the tale to a close.

"And after bidding farewell to his father, Kratos, Lord Aruirving set out with Lady Sage to collect the expheres and to find the place of his birth", the young woman stated.

"Aww to tell me you are gonna leave it there!", on of the children replied.

"Don't worry we'll continue more tomorrow, but for now it's time for all of you to hit the hay", the young man stated, "Rakel why don't you go and tuck them in?". The young woman, Rakel, nodded and ushered the children away from the area to where they would spend the night.

Kratos looked at the young man, wondering if he knew he was there. He watched at the young man gazed up at the stars in the night sky. He two looked to the sky.

_"Lloyd has always been obsessed with the stars since before I knew him"._

_"I remember that when I was little my father would put me up on his shoulders and we would look up at the sky. The stars were the one thing I studied seriously"._

Lloyd had supposedly lived here. That was why he came. Where was he?

"After the expheres had been dealt with, he had felt... drawn to the tree. After he came he found that he could not leave. The spirit of the tree, mana, chose him as its defender and he was forced to stay close to the tree, never leaving", the young man said, eyes never turning to Kratos, "Years soon passed and many had thought he had disappeared. He would never admit it but he had become extremely lonely. What little company he had received he had to kill... there was those who opposed the power of the tree and also monsters that came to think that if they killed him they would gain power".

Kratos's eyes widened as he listened. Just how much had happened in six years?

"Tales began of one who was called the Hand of Sorrow", the woman Rakel stated, her crimson-brown eyes shining in the light of the moon, " It was said that the Hand of Sorrow was the chosen of the Yggdrasil Tree. His duity was to watch you, to shield you, or kill on demand. It was said that no doubt that he would have fled but if it wasn't for the oath he had taken went the tree first came into existence that made him stay. He soon became torn between his honour and his love of life. The tale of the Hand of Sorrow found its way to the ears of Lady Sage and she set out to find him. She traveled the world once more in hopes of finding the Hand of Sorrow. The tale had given her hope that she might be able to find Lord Aruirving", Rakel finished walking closer to the grand tree. The young man followed as did Kratos.

"When Lady Sage came upon the tree she found Lord Aruirving. He was surrounded by those who wished for his power. Foolishly believing that they could gain was only came with years of experience. She watched as he killed them all. She saw the dead look he had in his eyes as he had finished them. Almost as if he wished as if the roles where reversed. She soon found that the Tree would not let him die nor leave. Lady Sage saw his empty loneliness and refused to just leave him alone", the young man said gazing at what appeared to be two statues at the base of the tree. "Lady Sage left rarely to attend to some matters, such as requesting that Sheena come with her so that they can formulate a plane to bring Derris-Karhlan closer to Symphonia. Soon they fell in love. The student no longer a student and the teacher no longer a teacher. Years passed and their love grew and soon they became parents", the young man turned to Kratos, brown locks falling in a spiked disarray, silver-blue eyes rested upon Kratos.

"Life was good for them both", Rakel said with a smile as she gazed at the statues, "That was until... until the tree began to waver. As it's chosen defender Lord Aruiriving was forced to give his mana, his life to the tree. With hs death he took Lady Sage's heart. She held onto him as he died and turned to stone. Forever guarding the tree. Many years passed and Lady Sage still cried for him. Their children could only watch as the tree took their father and left their mother broken", Rakel looked to the ground sorrowfully.

"More time passed and the tree began to waver once more. This time calling upon Lady Sage for she held Lord Aruirving's heart. She readily accepted her death feeling regret only for leaving her children... it has been over 900 years since Lord Aruirving and Lady Sage reunited", he stated.

"400 years since father's death and 350 years since mother's" Rakel said sliver locks shining in the moon light, "It has been 450 years since my brother, Zack, and I have been born".

"A thousand since you were last on this planet... Grandfather".

Kratos was aghast... how did this happen? The child is to die before the parent. Not the other way around.

A thousand years... it had only felt like six to his internal clock.

* * *

_This idea came to me when I was playing the game through for the somethin'th time (cuz I'm kewl like that) at the 'Lloyd... Don't die before I do... My son...' part :3 I felt kinda a tiny bit bad for Kratos when I started this BUT! I reminded myself that _ _A) It's fun to write stuff like this. B) Even though Kratos is one of my fave Chars I wanted to make him sad cuz sad fave charas make you love them more. C) I wanted too. D) I'm evil._

_Well hope you liked it. _

_Ja ne_

_ForbiddenKitsuneNin_


End file.
